8-14-24 McElroy & Cubelic in the Morning Hour 2: Why Clemson will (or not) make the CFP; Billion dollar athletes; Top-3 ACC QBs
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This jocks 94.5 podcast is brought to you by Millennium Satellite and Video. Log on to msbnow.com. TV excellence everywhere. That's Millennium. McElroy and Kubelik in the morning starts now. Welcome back in. McElroy and Kubelik in the morning. 8 a.m. Wednesday, August 14th right here on jocks 94.5.

Appreciate everybody listening in Huntsville on 103.9 FM. The Ump, always appreciate you guys tuning in in North Alabama. Listen online, jocksfm.com. You can be a part of the show, 800-239-9569. 800-239-WJOX. Will Clemson make...

the college football playoff that's our question of the day and our team of the day that we will discuss and it's going to be an interesting breakdown had eric mclean on previously just to discuss a little bit of sort of where they are in his mind and what he thinks they're going to be we know what airport marine is alabama's bass boat mercury headquarters now with all the premier brands at one location you'll find phoenix skeeter vexus icon bass cat all on the lot you

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at 234 in alabaster at airport marine all right let's talk clemson tigers will they make this year's college football playoff our team of the day that we're going to discuss and all of us will collectively answer that question in just a few moments we will start with the schedule obviously georgia week one at the bins app state week off nc state at home stanford at home weird one

At Florida State, at Wake, Virginia at home, week off, Louisville, at Virginia Tech, at Pitt, back-to-back weeks, both in November. Citadel before South Carolina comes to Memorial Stadium there in Clemson. It's not terrible, Greg. It's not ugly, but some legitimate hurdles, legitimate obstacles, a couple back-to-back road trips. You get some of your more difficult games at home outside of Florida State, which

Now, Virginia Tech, Lane Stadium, we know it's a tough place to play. So road schedule could be a little bit daunting. But I don't look at the schedule and say that it's insurmountable for Clemson to find a way to get to 9-10 wins. Not at all. I think the schedule is manageable. I do think their non-conference against Georgia will give you a nice wake-up call in a good way. You're going to know exactly where you stand after week one, which is beneficial. In victory and or defeat, it doesn't really matter. It's more about where can I get better to better serve Clemson

the team moving forward. So that I think is encouraging. But when I also look at it for Clemson, they have a few things that they need to iron out offensively. So it would not be ideal to go against a defense that great early in the year, but Clemson,

Hey, it's now or never. Maybe it increases the urgency in fall camp. And I think with what they found down the stretch, they're probably a little more physical this year than they've been in the past because of who their running back is. And I think the offensive line has a chance to move people with more regularity than they have in years past as well. Thought you were going to stop with move people there. And I do like the way that you sort of asterisked that one yourself. It's a good job by you because just move people probably not going to happen. That's what we do.

They're not going to be really good. They're not. I'm sorry. I'm not saying they're going to be, you know, I'm not saying they're going to be, you know, Joe Moore award winning. I'm not saying they have five first rounders in the front. I'm not. I just think they have a better chance of displacing people this year than they have in the past. In large part due to how they're running back runs and they're running back. Even if he runs into their backside, which he doesn't, he's an extremely patient runner. Film off is excellent. Yes. And runs with great power.

I think Will Shipley, with all his five-star status coming out of high school, didn't have great vision. I mean, he just didn't. The guy couldn't find a hole to save his life. When Moffa got inserted in the lineup the last three or four or five, six games, he

That offense took off running the football. So I think he's going to make them a lot better. And I do think this group collectively has a chance to be more powerful than they've been in the past. Never been a powerful group. They're a finesse group for the most part. But I do think they have a chance to be better. Interesting that you, the emphasis you place on that Georgia game of knowing sort of where they are and what they are. John, let's interrupt this program with a statement from Kirby Smart.

opening his press conference yesterday. Just kind of a sidebar to Clemson here. Kirby doesn't feel like he's super confident in his football team right now. We've got a long way to go as a football team. We are nowhere near where we need to be. I feel like we have less depth than we've ever had, and that's kind of a common thing. Talking to other coaches I talk to, I call it the deterioration of football because every year we've been here, I feel like we've had more...

capable of going in and play winning football. And every year that goes down. So we've got to keep working to increase that number. Still be a good test for Clemson either way, but Kirby underselling his group a little bit right now. Coach speak. Some of it, some of it might be real speak. I think it is real speak. I've heard the offense is not exactly dominating down there. Oh boy. Back to Clemson. I'm just saying there's buzz. Just saying there's buzz. It's it's fair.

There's buzz all over the place in camp. So 9-4 season to go 4-4 in the ACC. It beat Kentucky in the Gator Bowl. They did win their last five games. They have won nine or more for 13 straight years. So there's a lot to like about Clemson. There's a lot to like about this program, where it is. I just think a lot of people question sort of where it's going in this new modern age of college football and how it operates. I asked Eric McLean the question earlier, Greg, of...

And I understand quarterback has a lot to do with a lot of different teams, but it does feel like when it comes to Clemson, there's a little bit more emphasis on the Cade Klubnick factor than there is some other teams of can they make the playoff? Can they win their conference? It seems to be kind of Klubnick or bust when people talk about Clemson and how good they can be this year. I think it is a big part of it, though. I mean, that offense is quarterback driven. But I do think Cade Klubnick's been operating a little bit with the hand high behind his back. I mean, their receivers last year were inadequate defensively.

It's not because they don't have talents. They have beat up. They had young guys that couldn't really stay healthy and they weren't good in the red zone. Their field goal kicking stunk like that. That's all that all kind of like a lot of it falls on Klovnik shoulders. But it was really more than just him. So I think he's going to be better this year. I'd be surprised if he doesn't take a pretty decent jump from where he was last year to this year. But the guys around him have to be a whole lot better as well.

Let's talk about some of the guys that are going to be around him and they're not going to be void of talent. It's not going to be a group that doesn't have playmakers. Eric told us about some of the receivers, the size that you'll have on the perimeter. How do you sort of grade or assess, I guess, this skill group that Clemson's going to have this year and 2021?

Not necessarily compared to other years, because I think it is going to be always easy to lean back on, you know, are you going to have those kind of guys? But it still feels like a solid group of skill that Clemson is going to bring back. Their skills can be good. And a lot of them were young. Like two years ago, Antonio Williams was a dude. Really big time player. Like really, really good. Got beat up last year. Tyler Brown, first few games last year. Dude got beat up as the game went along. He was a true freshman last year.

Antonio Williams two years ago was a true freshman. They've been relying on true freshmen as their go-to guys. And that's just, that's not a winning recipe over and over and over again. These guys are going to get beat up. They're not used to the physicality that you're going to see in college football. And they don't last. I mean, not every true freshman and wide receiver comes in and is 210 pounds. It's just, it's not likely. A lot of them are going to come in at 170 and they're going to get beat up. That's just like any other position.

And Ryan Williams at Bama this year, if he's the number one receiver, that's probably not good. Devontae Smith, you did not want him as good as he was and as great as he became. You didn't want him as the number one receiver as a true freshman. You just don't. You want those guys to be situational 15-20 snap guys.

Not your go-to bell cow. And that's what Clemson's unfortunately had to rely on the last couple years because they had inconsistency with some of their guys. Bo Collins was inconsistent. Adam Randall up to this point has been inconsistent, but it sounds like he's coming on. Stilato's been solid, but he doesn't have a high ceiling. And then you've had injuries like Cole Turner's gotten hurt. Antonio Williams gotten hurt. Tyler Brown's gotten hurt. They just always get hurt. So if they can stay healthy, they'll have a pretty dynamic group.

And you're going to rely on a couple of freshmen again this year. At least you kind of hope that they can get in there and take some sick. Yeah. Wesco and Moore both could come in, could play a lot, could be guys that heavily contribute. So there are concerns. Can the offensive line be one that pushes people a little bit more? Kind of similar. We talked about with Tennessee. Is it a massive drop off after Mafa at running back? It feels like it's just not going to be close to what it is when he's in.

When you have to go to either Haynes, Adams, Jr., I just don't think it's going to be somewhat similar. And so that could also be an issue if he has to carry the load or if he gets a little bit dinged up. But I think the offense has a chance to be better. I mean, it was a new system last year. Garrett Riley comes in. Now, Klovenick's had two years in it. Should be a little bit more comfortable. But it comes down to him protecting the football, right, Greg? Totally. And not panicking in the pocket.

Well, a lot of picks last year and more importantly, a lot of fumbles. I think he put the ball in the deck 10 times last year. Lost five of them. And what lost him the Florida State game? Sacked fumble to the crib. And it wasn't his fault. Moffa blew the protection. But that can't happen. I mean, if you get sacked because you're running back, that's fine. Putting it on the deck is really not good. And it happens. I mean, it happens. I mean, guy had a full head of steam and he got smoked to hit him the right way.

But, man, in a perfect spot, you'd love to see that coming and try. Try really quickly. I mean, the guy was coming from the second level, so it's not like it was an immediate bang-bang. Should have at least had a little time to assess it, but love to tuck that because if they don't fumble that ball, they win that game. It might be a totally different conversation about what Clemson is. All right, so...

You think just about what they will be or could be offensively. The ceiling feels high. Just a lot of things going to have to come together for that to actually take place. And, of course, certain guys going to have to stay healthy, but it feels like it could be dangerous. On the other side of the show and the football, we're going to discuss it. The Clemson defense is one that they have a chance to lean on, that they have a chance to go into games and say they could keep us in about every game that we're going to play. We're going to tell you why that is.

When we come back, first, Damien, tell our listeners for any real estate questions that they may have in Birmingham where they need to go. That's my buddy Ben Hedney of the Bham Realty Group. If you're thinking about selling your home and when it comes to selling, you only want excellence, you've got to give my buddy Ben a call at 205-568-2705 or go to BhamRealtyCo.com. If you're struggling to get your house sold because the markets are changing every single day, you need an expert that focuses on adapting it half the time to make sure you come out on top.

That's my buddy Ben Heading of the BHAM Realty Group. You can visit their website at bhamrealtyco.com or give them a call at 205-568-2705. Keep it locked here because here's what we have coming up still on the show. We're going to talk Clemson defense and tell you whether or not they get to the playoff in our next segment. We're going to get to our top three after that. Players that you need to know that you might not know in the Southeastern Conference after that.

A potential salary in sports that you absolutely have to hear about. We'll discuss that later in the show, as well as some camp injury news around the SEC and all of college football. That's still coming up right here on McElroy and Kubelik in the morning. Catch up with all things McElroy and Kubelik in the morning by subscribing to the podcast. Mythically, he's grown. He's almost like a little bit bigger than...

A player, right? Like the myth of Bo Jackson. Like, rate, and download the show from the Jock Cup or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, welcome back in. McElroy and Kublik in the morning. Jocksfm.com is where you can listen online. Looking forward to the Jocks kickoff party tonight. Going to be fun hanging out with some of the listeners. Talking ball, hanging out at the Barron's game. Should be fun. Looking forward to that. Back to the Clemson Tigers, though, and exactly what they're going to be in just a moment.

Are they going to be a playoff team? We will answer yes or no, but first tell our listeners about B-Dry. B-Dry has been serving Alabama and this whole community for more than 60 years. They continue to back things up with life with the structure of warranty. You'll see what I mean. They have the largest waterproofing company in the country, so they come out. They make sure that everything in your basement crawl space are completely dialed in. It's really nice to know that I have great peace of mind, had them out, get my solution ready.

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and not pay a dollar for 12 months, interest-free, yeah, sign me up for sure. Go check them out at BeDryAlabama.com or you can go to 942-1976. That's BeDryAlabama.com. All right, so will Clemson be in the college football playoff? Let me start with this, Greg. How many ACC teams do you realistically think get in? Two. Do you think there's a chance there's one? Mm-hmm. I do too. Because one of the reasons that I'm not going to have Clemson in the playoff is just

I think that this league has too many teams that are similar to one another in what their ceiling is or what they could be. And I think it's going to be treacherous. I think there's going to be some cannibalism inside the ACC to where you're not going to have too many teams that separate themselves that much. That in just a moment. But this defense is one that I do think has a chance to be legit. You watch some of these guys operate up front.

Whether it's CJ Parker, Peyton Page, Peter Woods. I mean, they cause problems up front. And the linebacking corps might not be exactly what it was a year ago. But because one of their big losses, obviously, being Jeremiah Trotter Jr.,

Uh, Andrew McCuba gone from the backend, but the defensive line, Greg is something that I think can be the cornerstone of this football team. Like it can be, I'm not going to say what it was with all the draft picks across the board when they won the national championship. And what was that? 16 when they had that group, 18, whatever that was when they all came back. It's not my, it might not be that specifically off the edge, but man, they cause problems. It's a fun group to watch. Honestly, they're a little thin though.

That'd be the only thing. I think the front line guys are legit. I just think they're a little bit thin. That'd be my only concern. And that may end up being problematic, specifically with how you get started and how you get going early in the season. But I think that's an area that they're going to be able to lean on, and it's an area that can keep them in a lot of games. When I look at Clemson...

Compared to NC State, compared to Miami, compared to Florida State, compared to what Virginia Tech might be. I don't really know just yet. Georgia Tech and Louisville seem like very dangerous teams that might not consistently be able to be there. We think SMU can be a team that can sneak up and get some people. I just think that there's going to be people are going to look at the ACC and say it's mediocre because a lot of teams are going to be sort of maybe stuck in the middle.

But I just think it's going to be a testament to how competitive the league is. And I think that's going to keep Clemson out. I would take them out right now. Um, I just think FSU and Miami are slightly better. I don't think it's by a considerable margin, but I have them right now finishing third in the ACC. Um,

All that being said, I think Clemson's probably a little closer than people realize to being an at-large team. They have some opportunities. If they can go and somehow give Georgia all they want, even if they lose the game, I think in the court of public opinion, people will say, oh my goodness, they played Georgia really hard. That's going to make people think they're really good. We've seen people get credit for close losses in the past. I don't know why that's a thing, but that's a thing. So you play Georgia well in week one, people are going to overreact. Maybe Georgia's not as good.

But you play him well, everyone's going to think, oh boy, Clemson's back. Lost a close one to a future national champion. So I think Clemson's in a good spot. I just think they're thin and they get young fast because they haven't utilized the portal. Some of the depth on their roster is,

have not played a lot of college football. A lot of them are arriving on campus either last year or this year. And to expect them to be thrust into roles and all of a sudden have no drop-off when a potential All-American candidate goes out, that's a challenge. And think about this, what you just said about the defensive line and how quickly it could get young. Yep. Georgia is going to have the ability to bludgeon you a little bit up front. What's App State going to do?

What's going to happen to the backside of your D-line about 40 times a game? Chop them down. You're going to get cut. Chop them down. You're going to be in the training room. It's a good thing you got a week off. And then NC State, a team that would love to fight you in the back alley every single week. And then Stanford, another physical football team after that. And Florida State's going to run stretch after that. So that...

Your point about the defensive line in the front seven maybe getting thin or young very quickly, the schedule kind of backs that up as well. So you ultimately say no? No. I say no on Clemson. Damien, Clemson in the playoff, yes or no? I don't believe so. John? No.

Not without winning the conference. I think they're the third best team in the conference, so I wouldn't be surprised if they found their way into the conference championship game. But I think they're looking up at Florida State and Miami, and if that's the case, third place in the ACC does not get you in the college football playoff. I could see Clemson being the first conference championship game casualty that we talk about.

A loser of a good football team, maybe possibly playoff caliber, but they lose their conference championship game and it bumps them out. Correct. And they don't get an at-large because of that. And there's either an NC state or a Florida state that's sitting there with the same record at the end of the year, but didn't go lose their conference championship game. And they get that at-large bid and they go ahead and go specifically if they had the head to head. It'd have to be a head to head scenario. I mean, that'd be the only thing like you look at that Clemson gets a chance to play Florida state Clemson.

Clemson gets a chance. They don't believe they play Miami. No, no, no Miami, but they have, they have Florida state. It's in Tallahassee. They go and get a win against Florida state. Florida state makes it to the ACC championship game. They don't play Miami. That I think is going to be really interesting. I just wish that there was a way to guarantee that all the top teams would play each other, but you just can't. I mean, there's no way to balance the schedule. So that's going to be a tricky one because it's very clear to me who the top three are in the ACC. Um,

And knowing that one of those three will get left out and it might be indecipherable who team two and team three are like team one might be very clear cut. Let's just say let's just say Miami's team one. They go win at Florida. They they go in and have a beat Florida State at their place.

they have a pretty manageable schedule. So let's just say they're team one. That's obvious. They're probably in the playoff regardless of the outcome of the ACC title game. Then you go to team two, and it's Florida State. And Florida State lost to Clemson at home.

But won most of their other games. Clemson lost three non-conference against Georgia. Let's say they lost two more in the ACC. Florida State beats Notre Dame. You know, I mean, it's like there's it kind of gets really strange. And those two are kind of all right. Well, one beat the other. But frankly, the other one has a better win. That's going to be really interesting. Yeah.

Yeah, because Florida State could have wins against Florida, Notre Dame, Miami, SMU, Memphis, who might be sitting there as like a one-loss team, a two-loss team at the end of the year, which would look like a good win. You said SMU. You could be fast-forwarding, and Florida State's record could be 9-3 or 10-2.

but they could have a really good look in 10-2 or 9-3. Have a couple good wins. A couple big wins, possibly, of teams that are already securely in the playoff. And yet they might not even be playing in the ACC title game in that scenario because they lost head-to-head to Clemson. What you described is how I sort of foresee, project the ACC to go. One of those teams is going to sort of separate, whether it's Florida State, Miami. It could be Clemson. I think it could be NC State.

We forget who the NC State's getting a quarterback, right? I mean, nobody. I know Grayson McCall played a little bit of a lower level of football, but he's played like nine years of college football. And no, he doesn't have Matt Stafford's arm, but he can make the throws and he understands how to manage a game. And I just think that's I think it's an undervalued get for NC State right now.

And I think they're going to be I wouldn't be surprised if they're the team that separates in that league. But I do think one will and then the rest is going to be a little bit of a logjam. And that's going to be really interesting of the conference championship game loser slash if they do get an at large kind of who it is, who it isn't. They could be the conference that really becomes that litmus test early of how is this all going to be sorted out?

And some folks are going to be angry. But that's where we are, and that's just kind of how it operates in today's college football. So none of us say Clemson gets in. Don't say so. Okay, there we go. Clemson Tigers apparently out of the college football playoff, according to this show. When we come back, we will get to our top three. And speaking of Florida, some injury news around that team that we need to discuss later this hour. And also later this hour, a sports salary issue.

That has the potential to be an all-timer that you will not believe. All that next right here on McElroy and Kubelik in the morning. The capital of the sports talk nation. This is Jocks 94.5 and jocksfm.com. Hurry and... All right, welcome back in McElroy and Kubelik in the morning, Wednesday, August 14th, right here on Jocks 94.5.

We'll move on from our Clemson discussion. All of us say they just missed the college football playoff, but all believe that they will be in the hunt. Possibility that they get in, just as we projected, not going to make it right away. One piece of audio quickly. We mentioned this earlier in the show, and it's 830 Wednesday, August 14th on JOX 94.5.

Defensive analyst for the Colorado Buffaloes, Warren Sapp, asked about his defensive line, and we kind of gave you the quote earlier. This is how it sounded yesterday in Boulder. I wouldn't signal out one guy because we're packed. My five in is on a two-lane highway. That's nice and good. And then the last two tackles with Buell and the young fella will be six deep, you know,

Big boy, 90 Deuce Barnes. And then we got Katoji in there. And then working with Buell. And then one more. Who am I forgetting? TC and the other kid. Yeah, I mean, we're just mixing and matching. We got bullets. You get shot with a 38 or a 9mm, you pick it. Okay. Okay. Wow. By the way, he said we're a pack. A group of buffalo? They are not a herd. They are a herd, like I said. I feel like you would...

I think a pack works though. Maybe go, we are a wolf. I don't know why you got a hate. Why you got a hate? Group of butterflies. Anyone? Pod. Great guess, but no. It sounds much more intimidating than it really is. Plethora? Swarm. Swarm. Okay. Hmm.

It's a swarm of butterflies. It sounds scary, but obviously not very scary. All right, so that was just a little audio that we had from earlier in the show. We get to our top three each and every day. Sometimes it is good. Sometimes it's bad. Sometimes it's worthwhile. Sometimes worthless. What is on our top three today, Damien? Well, speaking of animals, and it's National Lizard Day. Yes, let's go top three animals all the time. I like that. Number one, hippo. Naturally.

Definitely the most hardcore animal ever. Okay. They're hungry, hungry all the time. Number two, bear. Wow. You went lion above bear? Number three, swarm of butterflies. How many bears are there? How many lions are there? A bunch. In both? Bunch more bears. Your kids ever get into the, we're going on a bear hunt song? I mean, it's happened once or twice. Nah, nah. We're not on that one right now. Bears are a hot topic of conversation around the house. What are you, on the Oregon Trail? I am always the bear. You're looking at that Auburn schedule, huh? That's good.

Why? Because they play Cal? Maybe. Gotcha. Caleb Williams fans? Okay. Perhaps. No-look screen over the weekend? No, it's like JG is running around. Anytime you get close, he's like, ah, bear! He's like, oh, gosh. All right, buddy. Our dog's a bear. I'm a bear. The baby sister's a bear. So is the new baby shark? Yeah, we're going on a bear hunt together. Not that far. I'll go dog three, no specific breed.

There you go. But we can go to your top three. That was just mine. Okay. But it should have been. Let's see how it actually will play out. I was actually going to keep it on the gridiron since we were talking the ACC. Oh, it's your boy's birthday today, Greg. Who's that? Tim Tebow. Oh, nice. You going to text him? You know what that means? Today was the launch of the 10-year anniversary of the SEC Network.

10 years. SEC Network started today, 10 years ago. Yep. Yeah. Get some. We got another anniversary, by the way. I know where I was 10 years ago. Kenny Turiel. Kenny Turiel. No, not the one he was thinking about. No. That was the first game. That was like two weeks after the launch. Same thing. But I digress. 10 years.

It's been a while. Yeah, it has. But no, the top three today, we're speaking of ACC teams, and we were talking about Clemson. Who are your top three ACC quarterbacks? Oh, sometimes I just have to think, like, what am I doing with my life? Thinking it's been 10 years since I was sitting there next to Booger on SEC Network. I'm kind of going to, I might get depressed the rest of the day. You going to be okay? No. Everything all right? Done nothing. Loser.

All right. Top three ACC quarterbacks. Number one. You ready? Write this down. DJ Uyungle. Stop. I'm just kidding. He's not number one. I just wanted to get Cole's reaction. Thoughts? No. Good answer. Good answer. Good answer. Not. No. Not. Don't. What if he is, though? He's not. What if he is? What if he isn't? What if he might be? Haters. You guys are the worst. All right. Number one. Cam Ward. Miami.

Guy's a dude. Cam Ward, most hyped up quarterback in the history of preseason football for Greg McElroy? No. Just because you don't pay attention to the pack doesn't mean you need to be mad at me. We've talked about it. I'm just kidding. You need to relax. He's so mad today. Why is he so mad? I'm not angry. Because you brought up Wolfpack and what happened? Speaking of anniversaries. Because you didn't pay attention to the... Kyle McCord.

Syracuse is in the ACC now? Was that part of the most recent round of realignment? No, they held on. All right, who's the quarterback of Maryland? I'll take him. Well, that's a Big Ten school. No. Not anymore. Founding member, ACC. They're back. They say, you know what? I really like what's going on in the ACC from a leadership standpoint. I'm leaving the Big Ten for the ACC. Okay. All right, Sawani. What's next? They're going to put out the Kevin Durant post on the whatever.

All right, we got it. We're going to write yours down. I've got mine. I'm ready. All right, go ahead. Let's hear it. Grayson McCall, Cam Ward, Kyron Jones. What order? I just gave you the order. That order? That order. You're going McCall over? Yes. Wow. Wow. Give me go touchdown interception ratio. Hey, that's not what we're talking about. Level of competition. Freaking incarnate word. Yeah, well, it's been power five the last two years. And the other thing. Kind of. Basically. In theory. Almost. Almost.

Still power five, in my opinion. Pack two is still power five. I wouldn't say that. 88 touchdowns, 14 picks. Over 10,000 yards for Grayson McCall. Anybody that's like motto includes the word that is spelled P-I-S-S. I just have a tough time with it. Just going to be honest with you. Like, I...

P-I-S-S-T-E-L. Like, that was his thing. Remember that? Anybody that's like, that's their core is like, I got no time for it. Never heard of him. You're telling me you're out on Roll Tide Willie, is what you're saying. Not a great, I don't think he's a great representative of the university, personally. To me. He loves the Tide. You can love the Tide, that's fine. I just wouldn't have him as the face of the organization. That's just my personal opinion.

You can love the Tide. I love that he loves the Tide. That's great. But that's my only hold up there. All right. Number... At number three, I can get on board. We'll go Grayson McCall at three. I can live with that. Three? So who is... Trace. Who is two? Trace. At number two, I will go...

Do it. No, I don't want to. I can't do it. No, I can't do it. He turns it over too much. I don't do turnovers. He only threw 16 picks last year. Kyron Drones, I just feel like we're rolling the dice a little bit on Kyron Drones. That's my only thing. Absolutely, but he's dynamic. He's super dynamic. Only three picks. He's super dynamic, and he had a great year down the stretch last year, but he kind of caught some people by surprise. Like, there needs to be...

All right, doing it with an entire offseason in which people are preparing to defend you, I'm going to be more impressed if he can repeat it this year. That's my only thing. You know what I mean? If he can repeat it this year, he's a bona fide lock on this list if we have this conversation a year from now. Okay. And then number one is Cam Ward. He's the most polished. He has the most tape. Who is two? Drones? Yeah. Okay. I just don't feel great about it.

It's hard to feel great about the league. These were your top four passers in the league last year. Drake May, Jordan Travis, Tyler Van Dyke, Jack Plummer. You've got to get the five. Cade Klubnick, six. Haynes King. That's where I'm having a tough time because I think when we fast forward to the end of the year, there is a lot of... Just keep an eye on Tyler Shuck at Louisville. That's all I'm going to say. Keep an eye on him and keep an eye on the kid at Virginia Calandria. Those two guys have game potential.

They just, Calandria was a freshman last year, didn't know what the heck was going on and made plays. Then Tyler Shuck can't stay healthy. The guy hasn't been able to stay healthy, but he's got some God-given talent that's pretty remarkable. So those would be two kind of flyers that I'd keep an eye on. I can't believe Max Johnson. 13-9 from Calandria last year. No, Max is not going to make it. Sorry. What? You know, hey. My top 10 probably. Wow. Not in the top 10? Not in the top 10? No. No.

Was it the backwards? He wasn't even the only quarterback they took to meet. He wasn't the backwards left hand. Was it that one? Slow pitch softball. That's what that's. That's what you had been the same since. But he's not at Texas A&M anymore. He has talent. What about Malik Murphy? Duke like him. It's a it's an interesting name that if you're going ceiling, he has to be in your top three. What about Castellanos with with your boy Billy? Oh, Billy O'Brien had a good year. Did some good things with Billy O coaching him.

He's going to be nice. We'll see. I just don't know. Do you have enough around him? That's the question. It's a fair question. Okay. This is going to be based on where we're at right now. I mean, DJ Uyungle could have a great year. We aren't even really talking about it right now for real. You got him number one. He's actually higher than one. He's in a league of his own. It's like naming the MVP award after Mahomes. It doesn't really need to be...

He's the best player. So I think we could have a very different looking list at the end of the season. There's a lot of upside in this league, and I'm cautiously optimistic that some of these guys will really reach their potential this year. All right, John? Number one for me is Cam Ward. Number two is Grayson McCall. And number three, I'll say it, Haynes King. Our list is the same, John. Our list is the same. I went the same exact route. Cam Ward, Grayson McCall, and...

Call me bullish, but I'm rocking with Haynes King, man. No, stop the music. Stop the music right now. Stop the music. Don't call yourself bullish.

You owe the public an apology is what you owe. You have dogged this man, made fun of this man. You have put this man down, time in, time out, over and over and over again. And now he's in your top three in the ACC. You owe him an apology is what you owe him. When you look at the rest of the quarterback. I don't need your explanation why he's in your top three. What I need is an apology.

from you publicly because of how you have slandered this man's name for years on this show. I don't care. Don't care. You have slandered him time and time again. You owe him an apology right now. The floor is yours. Haynes King, if you're listening.

I want to apologize for the negative comments that I said while you were a quarterback at the University of Texas A&M. And in the beginning of your Georgia Tech career. There were a few games. But when you look at everybody else, I think he has the biggest upside compared to a lot of the other ones. But yes, I would have him at number three.

Quarterback in the ACC is basically upside. I mean, it's almost everybody you talk about is what they could do or might be able to do or can do. What I would say is that clearly there's, you know, a lot of us are just ignoring turnover woes. Like, who cares about turnovers? I mean, it doesn't matter. Turn it over. Who cares? It doesn't make a difference. But he also led the league in passing touchdowns. I'm willing to think that probably that will come down some.

That's not – that's a dangerous game. I didn't say definite. I said I'm willing to think that probably is an optimistic look. Listen, the – I threw a lot of picks last year. I won't this year. Don't worry. The DNA specialists on this show have always told us that that turnover genome cannot be rewired. We know that. That is factual information.

However, I think it's recessive, and it comes and goes at times. Wow. Now we talk. For some people. Are we putting together the gene? The gene? The chart? Correct. Right. Big R, little r? Yes. Yeah. Correct. All right. I don't think it's dominant in him. Maybe he hadn't gone through puberty yet, and once he comes of age, we'll see the career. If he hadn't gone through puberty yet, then I'm super bullish on him. Because if that dude can run like 10, 300 and hadn't gone through puberty, we got action.

Who we got? Hella action. Ha ha ha!

All right, you know I want to redo my list now that I found that information. You gave me an agreement with mine. I think I have to trash mine. No, you don't. No, you don't. Stand firm. Stand strong. You can't go into the battle by yourself, brother. You can dump it. It's cool. We're good. I'm surprised you didn't go Cade Klubnick. I know you're a big Klubnick guy. I watched him in his first ever star, did that game. And I think that he's got a chance to be a good player. I don't know if the five-star, I watched him throw it. I've seen all these guys throw it.

I don't see the five-star guy. I didn't see it when he was warming up. Don't see it last year on tape. But I still think he can be a well-above-average starter in the league. Right. Not the NFL and the ACC. Haynes King career, 37 touchdowns, 26 picks. We're not discussing that. He was at Texas A&M, man. Well, 16 of those came at Georgia Tech. Oh, boy. Of the 26. So...

I understand where you're trying to go with that. It just doesn't compute. Now, he does have 11 rushing touchdowns, and he can break you down that way a little bit as well, so maybe he figures it out somewhat. It's going to be a weird year from a quarterback perspective in the ACC. I don't think there's any doubt about that because there's a lot of upside with a lot of guys, and there's a lot of what in the world is happening with a lot of those guys. But who can kind of keep it under control may be able to best direct their team to a spot in the college football playoff.

There is one athlete professionally that potentially is about to be directing himself to the bank in a manner in which I don't think any other athlete ever has. I will tell you who he is, where he may be going, and how much it may be for right after this on Mac and Cube in the morning.

Catch up with all things McElroy and Kubrick in the morning by subscribing to the podcast. Mythically, he's grown. He's almost like a little bit bigger than a player, right? Like the myth of Bo Jackson. Like, rate, and download the show from the Jock Cup or wherever you get your podcasts. You know who has a better career completion percentage than Cam Ward? Grayson McCall. You want to know who has more career touchdown passes than Cam Ward?

Grayson McCall. Guess who? You know who has fewer interceptions in two more years of major college football than Cam Moore? Oh, that's also Grayson McCall. Oh, you don't say. That's all right. Ain't playing nobody. You're right. Definitely hadn't done it. Honest to God, outside of last year, combined last three years, more difficult league, Sunbelt or Pac-12. It's an interesting conversation. You do not even have that conversation. I'm not joking. It's absurd.

I don't recall, personally, I don't recall Grayson McCall playing against Arizona, Utah, Oregon. USC? No, didn't mention them. Cal, Colorado, Stanford. Oregon State? There were three or four teams that could play some defense. Oregon State being one of them, Washington being one of them at times.

not as good at other times, but still pretty solid, decent. Washington State. Against his own defense. Same. If you hate Cam Ward, just tell us. It's fine. I just think we're going a little too far with it, just a smidge. It's not just him, though. You can't play quarterback by yourself. If you look at their offensive line, tell me an offensive line right now in the ACC that you would take above what Miami has coming back. Probably isn't one. I'll help you. I'll save you the time.

Don't sit there and say, oh, NC State, they added Zeke Corral from Notre Dame at center. Stop. It would be in the mix. It'd be in the mix. It's worth the conversation. They'd be in the mix because of the proven track record that Dave Dorn has with making sure that group is comparable. They're competent. Talent-wise, Miami's got more talent. Yeah, that's 100% accurate. They have more talent than Clemson.

On the O-line? They have more talent than... Are you talking ability or recruiting stars? Wow. Hang on a second. Let me think. Wow. Yep, that's right. Don't care about recruiting. There are some people that... Plenty of places for that. There are some people that are not going to allow your discussion there because Clemson has more guys with more stars, as they have for a long time up front, and hadn't necessarily been what people thought. My whole thought process is like, if you have a great O-line, your quarterback's life's going to be a little easier. Mm-hmm.

He's he accounted last year for 74% of Washington state's total offense, the highest percentage clip in the entire country. Why? Cause it couldn't run it. It couldn't run it. Then you also look at the fact that they returned the top two receivers, two of the top three receivers in the ACC. I might add in regards to yards last year, one of which had 85 receptions and a savior Restrepo pretty good place to start.

So he's not going at it by himself. And if we're going to, what, what also makes the quarterback's life a little easier, perhaps run game of adding a guy that went for 1200 last year, who average six, a carry. No, they got to do to tailback. They got to do to tailback. Now that's, so it's not as much about, it's not as tell me this, like you take Grayson McCall, for instance,

And I like, I really do. I really like NC State's weapons. I think he's poised to have some success. Which weapons would you rather have? Yeah. But I thought we were ranking quarterbacks, not. I'm pretty sure you can't play quarterback by yourself. That is true. I thought we were ranking quarterback. If we're just playing one-on-one quarterback versus quarterback, I'm still taking Cam Ward because he's got some wheels. He can juke you out. I don't know if Grayson could do that.

I think Cam Ward could tackle Grayson. The problem is you don't want Cam Ward doing as much of the juking as he does because he starts doing it in the pocket when there's no pass rush. Fair? I think he oftentimes tries to do too much. He's got some Caleb Williams in him. There's no denying that. Tries to do a little too much, do less, better. Would be, I think, a safe and healthy approach for him to go into the season with. But sometimes that turns into big plays. Sometimes it does. And explosive plays. And sometimes it doesn't.

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From? Venesis? From. Venesis Jr. From? From where? Soccer. Now I'm not too familiar with the game.

Uh, Vinicius Jr. has reportedly been offered. That's V-I-N-I-C-I-U-S Jr., by the way, if you're keeping track at home. The soccer nerds are going to be really mad at me right now, and I just want to go ahead and apologize. Don't even waste your tweets on me, okay? I'm sorry. I'm a lost cause. He has reportedly been offered, get ready for this, a five-year contract with

to play for Al Ali by Saudi Arabia's public investment fund. Oh, Jasmine's husband. Okay. If he accepts, he would earn $416 a minute, $25,000 an hour, $600,000 per day, 4.2 million per week.

Totaling five years, one, with a B, billion dollars. Congratulations. I'd sign it. In a heartbeat. Yep. Honestly, all things considered, put aside, discussed, you can't turn this down. No, no, not at all. Literally.

I mean, well, where else would you get it from? Because I also would like to think that if, okay, they're willing to offer. I'm not saying, you know, you don't turn it down, but if they're willing to offer that, maybe there are others that are equally high. Probably not. Nah. Are part of the negotiations and discussions, say, with your agent of, okay, this is a sick amount of money. It'd be awesome to get that. If by some chance we were to sign and that doesn't come in, how do we challenge that?

Because I'm not going publicly to say, guess who's not giving me my checks. Fair point. I'm just saying, is that a part of the conversation with your agent? Yes. What are you going to do, Greg, when they don't pay me what they say they're going to pay me? Because I'm not doing it. Man, my calf is really hurting today. I'm not sure I can play soccer or football. Hold out. The dreaded forearm strain. You think your calf's hurting?

Try running without a leg. Try carpal tunnel trying to inbound that ball. This is McElroy and Cubelik in the morning. It's time for Bob's Dare to compare. You get style. You get features. You get quality and thousands of dollars in savings.

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Whatever you were going for didn't land right. Who's got a shovel and some lime? Maybe you need to do that with your financial picture. I don't know. Find out more by searching the Stacking Benjamins podcast wherever you listen. When you have sports mixed with your pop culture, along with humor and celebrity interviews, your earbuds are enjoying the Rich Eisen Show. Good to see you, Bruce Feldman. The Big 12 landscape. I just know how Dion is, where he's coming from. His wins are measured differently.

The question is, as you said, it's got to go from four to eight. I think they can do that. It would be hard not to get better considering how bad they were on the offensive line last year. Now, their schedule actually feels harder this year than it was last year. Search for The Rich Eisen Show on YouTube or wherever you listen.